florilegium
by The-KLF
Summary: florigelium, (n) a collection of literary pieces; anthology. Short stories and drabbles, mostly cross-posted from my tumblr tag #amwriting - scroll through that to find photo prompts, etc.
1. 01 joe freakin torre

**Prompt:** gifset of Beckett meeting Joe Torre

* * *

"Hello?"

"Dad! Hi!"

"Hey Katie, how-…?"

"Oh my god, Dad, you'll never guess who I just met!"

"Who?"

"Joe Torre. Joe. Freakin'. Torre."

"…wow, really?!"

"I know, right?! He was so nice, Castle introduced us and we shook hands and he was smiling at me the whole time, it was just amazing!"

"That's great! Did you tell him about the home run ball of his your mom caught that you have at home?"

"No, I didn't get a chance to, Dad, we're on a case. Oh, Castle is trying to get my attention to get the elevator, I should probably go Dad."

"Okay Katie, see you for lunch sometime this week?"

"Sure thing, love you, see you soon."

"Love you too, bye."

"Bye, Dad."


	2. 02 beach picnic

**Prompt:** photo of four feet sticking out the open tail of a car

* * *

"Hey, Kate…?" Castle approached the back of their SUV slowly, unsure of what his wife was up to now. It had been her idea to come up to the Hamptons in the Fall, before the weather properly turned too cold, and they were enjoying the quietness.

Mostly.

"Castle, just do as you're told for once and _wait_ , else this won't be a surprise!"

A theatrical huff and flop of his arms were his only response.

A few minutes later after watching Kate go in and out of the house a couple of times he was back, armed with a medium-sized kids' sand spade, and a castle-shaped bucket.

"Hey, Kate…? This is the first day it hasn't threatened to rain all week, aren't we going down to the beach?"

"Maybe later, Castle, first we are going to kick back and relax in here."

"In… in the car? Kate, the beach is a fifteen second walk that way." He pointed to the other side of the house.

"Put your bucket and spade in, Rick, we're not going to that beach today. Have you got your sunglasses?"

"Yeah, but… that beach is private…" She went over to him and clasped her hands together behind his neck.

"All will be revealed if you get in and let me drive you someplace, okay? I have a picnic and everything. Just have a little faith, Rick."

Later on, after dining on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a flask of coffee while sitting on the tailgate of the SUV, they climbed into the nest Kate had made before they left the house. Pillows from nearly every sofa in the place, and at least three blankets each, had turned the space into a perfect snuggling spot.

"Kate, this is so good. Better than lying on the beach because the sand doesn't get in all the crevices. And it's softer too." He had been stroking his hand leisurely up and down her spine, lulling himself almost to sleep until she snorted in amusement.

"Softer? Wow, Castle, you really are getting old."

" _Old?!_ I'll show you old, Kate Castle…"


	3. 03 that wasn't it

**Prompt:** giftset of the corridor / champagne flute scene in _Always Buy Retail_

* * *

"…you know what I really, really want you to do…"

She can't stop herself from leaning in as he does, can't hold back the sudden rush of arousal when his eyes glance down to take in the sight of her parted lips and faint blush.

Kate presses her lips to his, gentle yet insistent meeting soft yet still.

She pulls away by a few hundreds of an inch and opens her eyes to find Castle standing rigid and unblinking in a state of shock.

It doesn't last more than a second and then he's on her, one hand flying up to run his fingers through her hair and she swears she hears him growl as he drops the champagne flute in order to grasp her hip and press her to the wall.

The sound of one of the uniformed officers clearing his throat breaks them apart suddenly, eyes wide and staring at each other in shock.

"That… that wasn't it, Beckett."


	4. 04 boom

**Anonymous asked:** Ficlet prompt: What if Beckett had been injured when her apartment blew up?

* * *

"Holy shit, Beckett, your ankle is the size of a balloon!"

He couldn't stop staring at it, infuriating her no end. "Castle! I told you not to look!"

"It's kinda hard to miss, to be honest. It's almost certainly broken, you won't be able to put any weight on it."

He pulled his jacket off and leaned over the bath. "Don't look!" she shouted, her voice hoarse in the dry heat surrounding them.

"Would you shut up about not looking? They're just boobs, for crying out loud." She was so shocked by his response that she let him manhandle her into his coat, and do up the buttons. She even put her arms around his neck when he reached under her knees and around her back to lift her.

Halfway through lifting her out of the bath, she cried out in pain, her hands fisting in the material of his shirt. He stopped moving immediately. "I'm okay, Castle, just go. Go. Let's get out of here."


	5. 05 jealous beckett

**beinginthedarkesthour-deactivat asked:** Beckett: jealous

 _Send me a word and a character(s) and I'll write a drabble based on that particular emotion_

* * *

Kate stood in the break room, nibbling on her thumb and staring through the blinds as Jenny and Kevin stood next to his desk, hands tangled together and whispering to each other. The diamond on Jenny's finger glinted at her, mocking her perpetual spinsterdom.

She wanted that. She wanted the happily ever after that they had, that seemed constantly out of reach. And she only had herself to blame.

"Penny for your thoughts, Beckett?"

Of course, Castle would turn up right at this moment.

"Hmm?" She pretended to only just notice him sidling up to her, standing much too close as ever. "Oh, just thinking about Kevin and Jenny. They're so happy."

She glanced to him, finding his eyebrows raised at the biting tone her last sentence had been uttered in. When the corners of his mouth began to rise, when she realised he'd got the measure of her, she turned away to hide the fire of defiance in her eyes.

"Never thought I'd see a day that Kate Beckett was jealous of her friends' happiness," he teased, expecting a roll of her eyes, but instead being met with anger.

"Well, here it is, Castle, so laugh it up while you can."

"Kate…" He drew a deep breath and rested the palm of his hand between her shoulder blades. She leaned into the touch, trying to hold in the tears that threatened. "You're getting there. You are." She turned her face and looked up at him, making him stammer in surprise at the pure love he saw reflected in her eyes. "And I'm going to be right there for you just as soon as you want me to be."


	6. 06 jealous caskett

**after-the-storm asked:** castle and beckett jealous

 _Send me a word and a character(s) and I'll write a drabble based on that particular emotion_

* * *

"Isn't it my turn to take Alexis out this weekend." She started off as if to question him, but it rapidly became a statement when a little flare of disgruntled jealousy lit in a dark corner of her mind.

"No, Kate, it's mine, I already got tickets for the show she wanted to see off-Broadway with Daniel Radcliffe in," he stated with a little malice in his tone.

She frowned and bit her lip, thinking hard. "Pretty sure the second weekend every month is mine. And I bought front row Yankees seats."

They both looked at each other, eyes narrowing before both speaking at once.

"Did you at least get a ticket for me too?"

Kate pursed her lips in an attempt to contain her smile as Rick rolled his eyes and began to laugh.


	7. 07 alexis

**beinginthedarkesthour-deactivat asked:** "Why does she keep doing this to herself?"

 _1 sentence to 5 sentences meme_

* * *

It started as a summer fling, turned at the corner of Pissed and Vengeful, and morphed into a beast she couldn't figure out how to get away from. She would be the first to acknowledge that the first mistake had been offering her dad's couch to him in a post-coital haze, but never would those words be uttered aloud, not to anyone, and certainly not to her dad.

His look of horror when she announced she would be moving out of the dorms and in with Pi was almost enough to make her relent, but there's a little devil was on her shoulder reminding her that her dad didn't say a word about proposing to Kate so why should he get any say in what his only daughter did in her life? It isn't like he cares.

Alexis perches on the awful sofa in the tiny apartment they share and wills away the threatening tears.


	8. 08 snapchat

**Prompt:** *snapchats you mundane shit just to see your cute face*

* * *

He's at his desk - pretending to write - when his phone does that annoying birdy whistle. It's a new phone. He likes it but feels disconnected from it because of not having been the one to open the box. He sighs every time Beckett's ringtone isn't the one he set last week - which is to say a couple months ago.

It's the little things.

The notification tone was not the one he'd set. So not only is he sighing at the phone, he's frowning at it too. He picks it up and looks at the pop up. Still frowning, he opens the app - another one he didn't install and therefore has no idea as to its use. He selects the only conversation in this app - which is apparently called Snapchat (what a ridiculous name) - and finds an image of Beckett's desk, complete with elephants and blue coffee mug, and a short message across it:

"had to make my own coffee after lunch :( xo"

Ten seconds of melting at his adorable fiancée's adorable message and the image disappears. He is outraged, his indignant "hey!" echoing through the bookshelves. Another annoying bird whistle indicates another received message, again from Beckett, but it's the same one. He takes a screenshot just before a text notification comes in.

"Sent you it twice cos I know you'd want to save your first Snapchat from me."

He's struck by her inherent knowledge of him, because it's the one thing he always forgets - she's been observing and learning him just as long as he has her.

He goes back to the other app and takes a quick selfie of him blowing a kiss to the camera, before going through the motions of composing a new message.

"Love you."


	9. 09 celebrity

**Prompt:** 'got mistaken for a celebrity by the celebrity's biggest fan' AU

* * *

"OH MY GOD, it's really you!"

"Uh, yes…?"

"Please could you sign my limited edition poster of Arrested Development?!"

"Uh, why…?"

"Because you were in the show!"

"Ma'am, I'm not an actor, I'm a writer…"

"Oh, are you redefining yourself? That's cool, yeah. But still, could you sign it?"

"…sure, fine."

"Oh my god, thank you! …wait, that's not what your autograph looks like! Why have you signed it Richard Castle?!"

"Because that's my name, ma'am."

"You're not… You're not Jason Bateman?!"

"No ma'am, I'm a mystery writer, not an actor. Also, he's three inches shorter than me."


	10. 10 soooo

**Anonymous prompt:** Castle/Beckett, Season 4 Pre-Always, "Sooo..."

' _Send me "So…" to hear what my character would say to yours after casual sex."_

* * *

"So…" Kate turned her head to look at him. "Uh, would you mind if I turned the light on?"

His shoulder shrugged against hers, so she reached to flick her bedside lamp on. When she turned back, she was momentarily distracted by the way his skin seemed to glow golden in the low light. She gulped and cleared her throat to focus her mind again.

"Castle?" He hummed in response, and she sighed. "Times like this I wish I could read your mind."

She's thankful for his snort. Some response is better than nothing. She just wasn't prepared for Rick 'Motormouth' Castle to go silent right after the most mind blowing sex she'd ever experienced.

"You don't want to read my mind right now, Kate. There's about five different trains of thought and I'm having trouble keeping up."

She rose up on her elbow and regarded him. "Try me."

The first time he made eye contact with her since he fell apart with his forehead melded to hers shocked her. Gone is the look of utter devotion, replaced by an emptiness she never thought she'd see.

"Did you sleep with me out of pity, Beckett? To say goodbye? To get me out of your system so you can m-"

She silenced him with a swift palm pressed to his lips.

She whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Castle." His eyes widened but she barrelled on. "This was none of those, God, the fact you even could think that makes me sick." She moved her hand to caress his cheek, "I love you."

Kate couldn't help but smile when Rick gaped at her in shock, and the smile turned into laughter when he rolled them both over into the middle of the bed and started kissing every bit of skin he could get to.


	11. 11 letter (omorfo fengari insert)

**Prompt:** photo of a woman writing while sitting on a hotel bed

* * *

Dear Rick

This conference sucks. And so does the fact it's in a signal black hole and the time difference is way too complicated to figure out.

I miss your voice. And your snoring too. I can't wait to be home with you, and Grace, and Indy. I can't believe I'm having to miss her first prom, it's so frustrating.

With any luck I'll be there before this letter - I'll race it home.

All my love, always  
Kate


	12. 12 i woke up like this

**Prompt:** photo of an open window, caption - "I woke up like this."

* * *

 _I woke up like this._

 _Windows wide open and the morning breeze rolling off the hills into the town._

 _Her side of the bed still made._

* * *

Castle lifted his head from the pillow, his bleary eyes tracking around the room. It was empty, excepting the suitcase and stuff strewn across the bed. He caught a scent of coffee and turned to his side to look out of the window.

"Kate?"

His voice was a whisper she couldn't hear over the traffic noises that drifted up from the street, so he watched her for a moment. She looked tired but restful as she read the local paper, her feet up on the chair she sat in with her knees tucked into her chest, a takeaway cup of coffee on the table within arm's reach and a second one next to it with steam still rising from the lid.

He slid out from under the sheets and moved to stand beside the window.

"Hey."

She looked up at him, a small smile on her lips when she tilted her head in reply.

"Got you a coffee."

"Thanks."

He didn't move until she lifted her hand to him. He crossed the threshold, his knees skimming the window frame, and moved the second chair towards her before he sat in it. Kate shifted to bring her feet to the floor of the balcony, framing his legs with hers, and stopping the breeze from tickling the outside his thighs. He watched her reach her hand to rest it on his chest over his heart, her fingers tangling in the dark hair she found there, skimming across his collarbone and up his neck to rest around his ear.

He smiled.

* * *

 _I woke up like this._

 _Windows wide open and the smell of coffee on the air._

 _Our side of the bed unmade._


	13. 13 watching the sunset

**Prompt:** photo of a woman sitting by a campfire and turning to look at the sunset behind her

* * *

"Kate! Kate, turn around. You're missing it!"

Beckett sighed. His relentless positivity - that she was sure was put on - over the long weekend was beginning to grate on her nerves. "What? I'm making the coffee you wa-…" She turned to look overher shoulder and the sunset simply took her breath away.

"Wow, right? How great is camping?!"

The sound of the shutter on his iPhone brought her back to reality and she whipped around to point an accusing finger in his direction. "Hah! Castle, you hate camping!"

He stood and moved to perch on the same rock as her, enclosing her hand with his. "Not when I get to share it with you."


	14. 14 top of the rock (omorfo fengari)

**Prompt:** photo of a teenager at the Top of the Rock with windswept hair.

* * *

It was the day after her baby girl had graduated high school, and Kate was so damn proud. Grace could've asked for a pony and her wish would've been granted, whether Rick agreed or not - she wasn't sure the word 'no' was even in her vocabulary today.

Thankfully, instead of a pony, the request had been for spending the day as tourists, seeing the sights of the city, including the view from the Top of the Rock.

"Haha, it's so windy, Mom!"

"I know, Grace, just let me try to take a couple more."

Grace managed to get her hair out of her eyes and the majority of it into a band. "Why do you always take so many pictures, Mom?"

Kate lowered her camera and tilted her head, a sad smile on her lips. "One day, baby girl, your kid will pick up one of these photos and know how happy you were right at that very second." Kate felt her lip tremble, and she bit on it to try to steady herself. "And someday, that may be all they have of you…" Before she could continue, she was engulfed by the arms of her daughter in a tight bear hug.

"I love you, Mommy. And I love Grandma Jo, wherever she is now. Because of her, everything that happened in her life and after it, I have you. And you are the best mom in the whole world." Kate felt Grace loosen her grip as she pulled back to look her mom in the eye. "And don't you forget it."

Kate gave a watery laugh, "What is it with you and your Dad, always with the right thing to say?"

Grace shrugged and pulled her over to the rail to look out over the city.

"Guess it runs in the family."


	15. 15 ust

**Prompt:** gifset of the interview where Castle and Beckett are in the loft and Beckett is creating sexual tension by draping herself all over Castle (you know the one, don't deny it)

* * *

He snaps. God help him, he just can't take it any longer with her pressing her perfect body against him and her breath caressing his lips and her nose nudging his. He snaps.

He lunges for her, lips first (soft, luscious lips that open on a gasp), hands to her hips second to hold her even closer (and preferably forever). Her hand clenches around his upper arm and he feels her melt against him when he wraps his arms around her waist.

A polite cough breaks them apart, both panting and staring at one another until the director speaks, "Look, it's great, but it's not in the script… Can we try it from the top one more time please?"

He gives her a sheepish look and shrugs, and her tiny answering smile brings him hope for when the film crew have finally exited his loft.


	16. 16 bed shopping

**Anonymous prompt on castlefanficprompts:** Castle and Beckett need a new bed. When they're in the store, they "try" some beds.

* * *

"Excuse me? Sir? Ma'am?"

He gives them a few seconds to stop.

They don't.

"Excuse me?"

His hands meet his hips.

"Hey! HEY!"

They stop. Eventually.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

The pair sheepishly get off the bed and head towards the exit, hand in hand. He overhears their conversation as they leave.

"Maybe at the next store we should pretend to have sex on the beds instead of seeing who can jump the highest."

"No, Castle, I'm not risking arrest by mall cop today!"


	17. 17 couples night (Dia's prompt)

**fembot77 asked:** Castle Flash-Fiction Challenge: Rick and Kate's first time joining Espo/Lane and the Ryans for couples night

 _Set in the week before 'Secret Santa' 5x09._

* * *

"Does my hair look okay?"

She felt a small burst of pride at managing to keep her eyes from rolling at his question. Not that he would have noticed, since he was too busy checking his coiffure in the elevator's mirror as they walked in. She wondered what the dress code would be for Christmas Eve, swallowing back the sudden nerves that rose in her throat and tapping her fingernails against the bottle of wine in her hands.

"Damn, I knew I should've worn a tie. This shirt looks all wrong without one."

The elevator announced its arrival on the correct floor with a polite 'ding', neatly covering her replying huff.

"Should've known you'd be the girl in this relationship, Castle."

Kate didn't get very far down the corridor before her partner was crowding her back, halting her forward motion with strong hands on her hips.

"I think you'll find, Detective, that I am all man…" he purred in her ear, leaving butterfly kisses on her neck until Kate reached around and pinched his side through his jacket, causing Rick to let out a high-pitched squeal.

"Uh huh…" she flashed a mischievous grin over her shoulder and carried on to the Ryans' front door, tapping on it as Rick caught up to her, rubbing his side with a tortured grimace on his face. Kate reached up to fit her palm to his cheek and leaned in to kiss him, a gentle apology for her teasing. She was about to deepen the kiss when the door flew open and they broke apart, eyes wide like teenagers caught in the act.

Or rather, parents.

"Eeeeww! Mom and Dad are kissing outside! So gross!" Ryan put on a polite smile as he sighed, Esposito's voice carrying out far enough to make the door of the apartment opposite crack open to see what was going on in the corridor.

Kevin ushered them in, a hushed apology to his neighbour and a wave as he closed the door again. He took the opportunity to clip Javier's ear as he walked past and into the kitchenette.

"Hi Kate, hi Rick! Oh, thank you for the wine, that looks lovely," Jenny hugged them both and led them over to the table. "Did Mrs Kelly open her door again, Kev? I swear that woman must sit in a chair right by the door just to spy on everyone!"

"Sounds like someone I know," Javi piped up again, with a sly look at Lanie. She shoved his shoulder as if it didn't bother her, but Kate knew the stages of Lanie's irritable mood and she could tell she was further on than she was showing. Castle picked up on the tension and quickly changed the subject, eagerly questioning Jenny about how she had prepared the dishes.

By the end of the main course, an all-out war had broken out on the opposite side of the table to Castle, and he could barely believe what he was seeing: Espo and Lanie volleying back and forth insults in heated stage whispers, like some kind of bizarre tennis match. He tried to get Ryan's attention to start some kind of conversation to attempt to get them to focus elsewhere but he received a sharp shake of the head from the detective, who got up to help Jenny clear the table.

"Oh my God, you are impossible, Javier Esposito! Ugh!" Lanie shot up from her seat, like a jack-in-the-box Rick's brain helpfully provides, jostling the glasses on the table when she knocked her chair against the leg and bustled out of the front door, coat and purse in hand, and a repentant Javier quick on her heels.

"Lanie! Lanie, wait!"

The remaining four listened to the muffled conversation through the wall until the closed elevator door finally cut it off, and both Ryans let out sighs of relief.

"What… what just happened?" Rick turned in his chair to look at their hosts, Kate still staring at the door with a shell-shocked look on her face.

"One of these days," Jenny explained, "They'll get to the end of Couples' Night without breaking up…"

Kevin grinned as he brought the bowls and cutlery to the table. "But for now, more dessert for us!"


	18. 18 not just boobs

**InkyCoffee, KrissaBelle7, and theputz913 requested a follow up to florilegium 04**

* * *

She didn't get a moment alone with him until the orderly wheeled her away from the Emergency Room and left them sat together in the otherwise empty Radiography department waiting room. The doctor had already given her some of the good drugs and she knew she should just never mention the fact he'd seen her naked, should have just filed it away into that mental box she'd had ever since they met that she only just named, _NOPE_. It just kind of slipped out.

"So, uh… just boobs, huh?"

Kate supposed she had to give him some credit, he did have the decency to look chagrined. "Did I really say that?" She pinned him with a glare, "Yeah, I guess I did say that…"

Instead of keeping her mouth shut like she wanted, it just carried on without her permission, "I mean, if we're gonna split hairs, Castle, I was naked. Did you see the rest of it too?"

"Err… I plead the fifth." She tried to make eye contact with him, but he seemed to find his hands particularly fascinating. Kate reached across and placed her hand on top of his.

"Next time, I get to see you naked too."

He laced his fingers with hers. "Deal."


	19. 19 caskett haircut (omorfo fengari)

**Guest reviewer on florilegium 06 prompted:** Castle Beckett haircut

* * *

"Sweetheart, it's not that big a deal, honestly…" Rick walked around the kitchen island, juggled the sleeping baby into a one-arm hold and put his free arm around his wife's shoulders. She shrugged him off as she moved away to pace in front of him.

"Yes, it is!" she threw her hands down, palms up, frustration leaking from every gesture.

"I-…" He began to attempt to comfort her once more but she cut him off almost immediately.

"My baby girl is going to have her first haircut, Castle, this is a big deal, okay?!"

He took a deep breath, bouncing his knees a little as he rocked Grace in his arms, "Okay, it's a big deal. But, Kate, you know it won't hurt her. Come on, how many times have you had your hair cut?"

She stopped pacing and stood in front of him with her hands on her hips, a huffed breath flipping her bangs up before they fell down again. "When the hell did you become the reasonable one?"


	20. 20 in the park

**A prompt I've had sitting around for ages:** S4 Caskett take a walk in the park

* * *

"Y'know, Beckett, I'm proud of you." She gave him one of those quizzical looks that he loved, the slight groove between her eyebrows and the quirk of her lip all he needed to continue his train of thought. "Yesterday, you could have thrown Joe and Vera into jail for a crime decades old, but…"

"It's like I said, Castle, it was self-defence," she shrugged, and he smiled, shaking his head as he walked beside her. She looped her hand through the crook of his arm and smiled back at him. The path they were taking through the park was mottled by the shade of the leafy trees and just up ahead a pair of silver-haired ladies were sat on a bench chatting to one another. He turned to Kate to continue the conversation, but before he could get a word out she leaned into him and pressed her lips to his. He ground to a halt, shocked into inertia by the sudden gesture and the slight weight of her lean body against his. As she pulled away, it took him a moment to be able to open his eyes and when he did he saw her give him such an open look, so full of _love_ , it nearly floored him.

"I, uh…"

He shuffled on his feet, feeling a blush rising to the tips of his ears as he glanced down at the path before looking back up at her through his eyelashes. She gave him a shy smile and flicked an eyebrow at him. He noticed the women on the bench had stopped talking and from the corner of his eye could see they were both watching the unfolding scene a couple of yards away.

"Speechless, Castle? Wow… it was just an innocent kiss…"

The playful remark spurred him into action, and with a glance towards the bench he hustled Beckett away from curious eyes, pulling her into the trees. He selected the nearest large trunk, tugged her around it, and pushed her back to it.

"When it comes to you, Kate Beckett, nothing like that could ever be innocent."

She looped her arms around his neck, pulled his head down to meet hers, and compelled him to ravish her mouth with his. He was more than happy to oblige.


End file.
